Looking for expert help with GST and income tax for packers and movers India? The team at Tax Garden, based in Kondapur, Hyderabad, helps Indian SMEs stay compliant. End-to-end filings, notices, and deadline tracking, all in one place.
Key Takeaways
- Moving a family's household goods is GST-exempt when the customer is unregistered (Notification 12/2017-CT(Rate), S. No. 21A).
- For companies, firms, factories and GST-registered customers, a mover issuing a consignment note is a GTA: 5% paid by the customer under reverse charge, or 18% with full credit if you opt for forward charge. The 18% rate replaced 12% from 22 September 2025.
- The forward charge option is filed in Annexure V between 1 January and 31 March for the next financial year, and it continues until you revert.
- No e-way bill for used household effects. Business clients deduct 194C TDS at 1% or 2%; families don't.
- Owning ten or fewer trucks? Section 44AE deems Rs 7,500 a month per light truck, or Rs 1,000 per ton a month per heavy one.
Do packers and movers charge GST on house shifting? Not for a family. Services of a goods transport agency to an unregistered person are exempt under S. No. 21A of Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate), unless the customer is a factory, society, co-operative, body corporate, partnership firm or registered casual taxable person. Moves for those customers are taxed at 5% under reverse charge, or at 18% if the mover has opted for forward charge.
Most packers and movers run two businesses on the same trucks. Weekend house moves for salaried families, and weekday office or godown shifts for companies. GST treats them very differently: the first is usually exempt, the second is taxable, and who pays the tax depends on a declaration you may or may not have filed last March. This guide works through the CBIC notifications for each case, then covers the TDS your business clients deduct and how your income is taxed for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), with the Income-tax Act 2025 sections that apply from 1 April 2026. For freight work more generally, see our GST on transport and GTA guide.
Are you a GTA? The consignment note decides
A goods transport agency is "any person who provides service in relation to transport of goods by road and issues a consignment note, by whatever name called" (Notification 12/2017-CT(Rate), para 2(ze), as substituted by Notification 16/2025-CT(Rate), which only carves out e-commerce local delivery). The bilty, lorry receipt or "goods receipt" you hand over with the cartons is a consignment note under that wording.
Once you're a GTA, Notification 11/2017-CT(Rate), S. No. 9(iii), as substituted by Notification 3/2022-CT(Rate) from 18 July 2022, covers "Services of Goods Transport Agency (GTA) in relation to transportation of goods (including used house hold goods for personal use)". So house shifting is named in the GTA entry itself.
Packing, loading, unloading and unpacking that you do as part of the same move travel with the transport. A composite supply is taxed as its principal supply (Section 8(a), CGST Act), and on a relocation job the principal supply is the transport. Keep them on one consignment note and one invoice.
If you don't issue consignment notes at all, you're outside the GTA definition. Road transport by someone who isn't a GTA or courier is exempt (Notification 12/2017-CT(Rate), S. No. 18), but the GTA household exemption and the reverse charge entry then don't apply to you, and your packing charges need a separate look. Have your CA review how you bill before you change anything.
Which GST result applies to each move?
Household move for a family. S. No. 21A of Notification 12/2017-CT(Rate), inserted by Notification 32/2017-CT(Rate), exempts services provided by a GTA to an unregistered person, other than (a) a factory under the Factories Act, (b) a registered society, (c) a co-operative society, (d) a body corporate, (e) a partnership firm, including an association of persons, and (f) a registered casual taxable person. A salaried family moving from Kondapur to Pune is none of these. No GST, whichever option you've chosen.
Office, shop or godown move for a business. Notification 13/2017-CT(Rate), S. No. 1, makes the customer pay GST under reverse charge when a GTA transports goods by road for a factory, society, co-operative society, any GST-registered person, a body corporate, a partnership firm or a casual taxable person. The rate is 5% (2.5% CGST plus 2.5% SGST on an intra-state job). You charge no GST on your invoice.
If you opt for forward charge. Notification 5/2022-CT(Rate) switched off reverse charge where the GTA has registered, opted to pay tax itself and issues a tax invoice with the Annexure III declaration. You then charge either:
- 5% with no input tax credit, or
- 18% (9% plus 9%) with full credit. This was 12% until Notification 15/2025-CT(Rate) substituted 9% for 6% in S. No. 9(iii)(b) from 22 September 2025.
Government departments that registered only to deduct GST TDS are kept out of reverse charge, and that transport is exempt (S. No. 21B of 12/2017, and the proviso to S. No. 1 of 13/2017, both inserted by Notifications 28/2018 and 29/2018-CT(Rate)).
Comparison
GST on Packers and Movers Jobs (from 22 September 2025)
| Job | GST | Entry |
|---|---|---|
| House shifting for an unregistered family, with consignment note | Exempt | 12/2017 S. No. 21A |
| Office or godown shift for a company, firm or registered business, mover not opted | 5% paid by customer under reverse charge | 11/2017 S. No. 9(iii)(a); 13/2017 S. No. 1 |
| Same shift, mover opted for forward charge | 5% no credit, or 18% full credit, on mover's invoice | 11/2017 S. No. 9(iii)(b); 15/2025 |
| Trucks hired by the mover from truck owners | Exempt | 12/2017 S. No. 22(b) |
| Move for a government department registered only for GST TDS | Exempt | 12/2017 S. No. 21B |
Source: Notifications 11/2017, 12/2017 and 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate) as amended by 32/2017, 28/2018, 29/2018, 3/2022, 4/2022, 5/2022, 15/2025 and 16/2025
Should you opt for forward charge, and when?
What the 18% option buys you. Goods vehicles (heading 8704) carry 18% GST (Notification 9/2025-CT(Rate), Schedule II). On a Rs 20,00,000 truck that's Rs 3,60,000 of GST. On the 18% option you can claim it, along with GST on tyres, repairs, cartons and bubble wrap. Under reverse charge, or on the 5% forward charge option, none of it is claimable: the 5% entries allow no credit on goods or services used in the service.
What it costs you. Your household customers stay exempt, so you'll have to reverse the credit that relates to those exempt moves (Section 17(2), CGST Act). And business customers who can't claim credit, such as a small unregistered partnership firm, pay 18% instead of 5%.
Diesel carries no credit either way. High speed diesel is outside GST (Section 9(2), CGST Act), and it's your biggest running cost.
The deadlines. Annexure V for a financial year is filed between 1 January and 31 March of the year before. For FY 2027-28, that's 1 January to 31 March 2027 (Notification 6/2023-CT(Rate)). A new GTA, or one crossing the registration limit, can file within 45 days of applying for registration or one month of getting it, whichever is later (Notification 5/2023-CT(Rate)). Once filed, the option carries on into later years until you file Annexure VI in the same January-to-March window to go back to reverse charge.
Do you need to register? Registration is compulsory once aggregate turnover crosses Rs 20 lakh in a year, or Rs 10 lakh in a special category State (Section 22(1), CGST Act), and aggregate turnover counts exempt supplies too (Section 2(6)). A mover whose only taxable supplies fall under reverse charge is exempt from registering (Notification 5/2017-Central Tax). If your work is a mix of exempt household moves and reverse charge business moves, neither exemption clearly fits, so confirm with your CA before you stop registering. Our GST registration service handles the application and the Annexure V filing.
A worked example: one month, three jobs
Ravi runs a proprietorship in Hyderabad with his own trucks. He hasn't opted for forward charge. In August he does three jobs:
| Job | Bill (Rs) | GST on Ravi's invoice | Who pays GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family moving Hyderabad to Bengaluru | 60,000 | Nil | Exempt under 21A |
| Office shift for a private limited company | 1,50,000 | Nil, with reverse charge note | Company pays 5% = Rs 7,500 |
| Godown shift for a partnership firm | 40,000 | Nil, with reverse charge note | Firm pays 5% = Rs 2,000 |
TDS. The company deducts 1% of Rs 1,50,000, or Rs 1,500, under Section 194C, because the bill is above Rs 30,000. The firm's Rs 40,000 bill also crosses Rs 30,000, so it deducts Rs 400. The family deducts nothing.
E-way bill. The family's goods are used personal and household effects, so no e-way bill is needed (Rule 138(14)(a) and S. No. 7 of the Annexure to Rule 138, CGST Rules). The company's desks, computers and files aren't household effects. If the company is registered and the consignment is worth more than Rs 50,000, an e-way bill is needed before the truck leaves, even though nothing is being sold (Rule 138(1)(ii)). Our e-way bill guide shows how to generate one.
Step-by-Step Guide
Monthly GST Routine for a Packers and Movers Business
Issue a consignment note for every move
Number it, and record the consignor, consignee, vehicle number and goods. It is what makes you a GTA.
Tag each invoice
Mark it exempt (unregistered family), reverse charge (business customer, no option filed) or forward charge at 5% or 18%. Add the reverse charge note or the Annexure III declaration as needed.
Check e-way bill needs
Household effects need none. For a registered business's goods worth over Rs 50,000, make sure an e-way bill is generated before loading.
Match purchase credit with GSTR-2B
On the 18% option, claim GST on trucks, tyres, repairs and packing material only when it appears in GSTR-2B, and reverse the share for exempt household moves.
File GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B
Report business customers' bills against their GSTIN so they can pay reverse charge, and show exempt moves separately.
Source: Sections 8, 9(2), 17(2) and 22, CGST Act; Rule 138, CGST Rules; Notifications 11/2017, 12/2017 and 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate)
For how your business customers handle the tax on their side, see our reverse charge guide. Our GST return filing service files GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for you every month.
What TDS applies, on what you receive and what you pay?
On your bills. Section 194C covers "carriage of goods or passengers by any mode of transport other than by railways". Companies, firms and other specified persons deduct 1% if you're an individual or HUF and 2% otherwise, once a single bill crosses Rs 30,000 or the year's payments cross Rs 1 lakh (Section 194C(1) and (5), Income-tax Act 1961). An individual paying exclusively for personal purposes, such as a family's own house move, doesn't deduct (Section 194C(4)).
The small-transporter declaration. If you own ten or fewer goods carriages at any time in the year and give your client a declaration with your PAN, payments to you for plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages are made without TDS (Section 194C(6)). Whether a relocation bill with packing and handling counts as plying goods carriages is something to settle with each client.
On what you pay truck owners. When you hire a truck from an owner, the owner bills you without GST (S. No. 22(b) of Notification 12/2017-CT(Rate)). You deduct 194C TDS above the same limits unless the owner gives you the ten-or-fewer declaration. Pay them through the bank: cash payments to one person above Rs 35,000 in a day for hiring goods carriages are disallowed (second proviso to Section 40A(3)).
From 1 April 2026 the TDS rule is Section 393(1), Table S. No. 6(i), of the Income-tax Act 2025, with the same rates and thresholds. The small-transporter and personal-purpose exclusions sit in Section 393(4), Table S. No. 8. Our TDS on transport charges guide covers the declaration in detail.
How is a mover's income taxed for FY 2025-26?
If you own your trucks: Section 44AE. An individual, firm or company that owns ten or fewer goods carriages at any time in the year can declare, for each vehicle, Rs 1,000 per ton of gross vehicle weight for every month or part of a month owned, if it's a heavy goods vehicle (gross vehicle weight above 12,000 kg), and Rs 7,500 a month for any other goods carriage (Section 44AE(1), (2) and (7), Income-tax Act 1961). A truck still on loan counts as owned. You can declare higher income than this, and to declare less you need books and an audit. From tax year 2026-27 the rule is Section 58(2), Table S. No. 2, of the Income-tax Act 2025. Our Section 44AE guide has more examples.
A worked example. Ravi owns one light truck (gross vehicle weight 7,500 kg) all year, and buys a heavy truck (gross vehicle weight 16,000 kg) on 10 October 2025.
| Item | Amount (Rs) |
|---|---|
| Light truck: Rs 7,500 x 12 months | 90,000 |
| Heavy truck: Rs 1,000 x 16 tons x 6 months (October, part month, to March) | 96,000 |
| Deemed income under Section 44AE | 1,86,000 |
| Tax under the new regime (income below Rs 4 lakh) | Nil |
The Rs 1,900 his business clients deducted that month, and the rest of the year's 194C TDS, comes back only if he files a return. That's the plainest reason for a small mover to file every year.
If you don't own trucks. A mover that hires every truck and earns from packing and arranging the move can't use Section 44AE, because it owns no goods carriages. Section 44AD excludes only the goods carriage business that 44AE covers, so many such movers look at 44AD: 6% of receipts through banking channels and 8% of the rest, for resident individuals, HUFs and firms (not LLPs) with receipts up to Rs 2 crore, or Rs 3 crore where cash receipts are within 5%. Confirm with your CA that your business fits before you rely on it. See our Section 44AD guide.
Advance tax. The single 15 March instalment in Section 211 is only for Sections 44AD and 44ADA. Movers on 44AE with tax above Rs 10,000 pay in the usual four instalments. See our advance tax due dates.
Common mistakes packers and movers make
- Charging GST to families. A household move for an unregistered individual is exempt. Adding 18% to the quote is wrong and loses you the job.
- Charging GST to a company without opting. If you haven't filed Annexure V, the company pays under reverse charge. Putting GST on your invoice as well means it's paid twice.
- Still billing 12%. The higher forward charge rate has been 18% since 22 September 2025.
- Missing the March window. The forward charge option for next year has to be filed by 31 March. Miss it and you're on reverse charge for the whole year.
- No consignment note. Without one you're not a GTA, and the household exemption and reverse charge entries built for GTAs don't apply to you.
How Tax Garden helps packers and movers
We register you for GST, help you decide between reverse charge and the 18% option for your mix of household and business moves, file Annexure V on time, and file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B every month through our GST return filing service. At year end we reconcile the 194C TDS in your Form 26AS and file your return under Section 44AE or 44AD through our ITR filing service. If you own trucks, our truck owners' tax guide covers the rest of the transport side.
